1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for generating synchronized contents information in which audio/video information and electronic document information are synchronized with each other to be used in the sharing of information within a company, in educational fields, or entertainment fields. More particularly, this invention relates to a technology for generating synchronized contents information used to synchronously display audio/video information and document information without requiring any particular equipment like a projector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digitized audio/video information has been stored and distributed at a low cost yet in a simple manner due to reduction in the cost of storage on a server and employment of a broadband in a network.
Accordingly, a meeting of a company has been changed in its style such that the meeting can be proceeding by distributing audio/video information using a video camera, in addition to progressing of the meeting using a relevant material mainly with a text such as a distributed material and minutes of the meeting. Therefore, in the company, it has become possible to transmit detailed contents of the meeting to those who cannot attend the meeting in real time, based on a display of the audio/video information and the relevant material in correlation with each other.
FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a structure of a conventional synchronized contents information generating system. This synchronized contents information generating system generates synchronized contents information. The synchronized contents information is obtained by synchronizing a document (relevant material) of a plurality of pages distributed to attendants at a meeting, with audio/video information that records how a presentation using this document goes on.
A video camera unit 10 records how the presentation using the document goes on, and outputs speech and video as audio/video information 11 to a synchronized contents information generating apparatus 30. A projector 20 displays electronic document information 21 on a screen by enlarging the information in a page unit, according to the operation of a presenter. The electronic document information 21 is obtained by converting a document distributed to the attendants of the meeting to an electronic document.
The projector 20 outputs synchronization information 22, that is a time at which a page of the electronic document information 21 has shifted to the next page, to the synchronized contents information generating apparatus 30 through the operation of the presenter. In other words, the projector 20 outputs the synchronization information 22 indicating a page break each time when the displayed page shifts to the next page.
In other words, the synchronization information 22 indicates any time zone with which (to which) each page of the electronic document information 21 is synchronized (corresponds), on the time axis when the audio/video information 11 is reproduced.
The synchronized contents information generating apparatus 30 generates synchronized contents information 33 based on the audio/video information 11, the electronic document information 21, and the synchronization information 22. A database 31 stores the audio/video information 11, the electronic document information 21, and the synchronization information 22.
A synchronized contents information generator 32 acquires the audio/video information 11, the electronic document information 21, and the synchronization information 22 from the database 31, and generates synchronized contents information 33.
The synchronized contents information 33 is described in a scenario representing language like Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), and a script language like Java(R)Script. The synchronized contents information 33 is information in which each page of the electronic document information 21 is related to a time zone on a reproduction time axis of the audio/video information 11 based on the synchronization information 22.
A reproducing unit 40 has a browser like SMIL reproduction software, and reproduces the synchronized contents information 33. The synchronized contents information 33 is viewed by those who are not able to attend the meeting. The reproducing unit 40 displays the reproduced speech and video of the audio/video information 11, and the pages of the electronic document information 21 synchronized with the reproduced information.
The above conventional synchronized contents information generating system has the following problems. (1) The electronic document information 21 must be ready at the time of making presentation (Preparation of the electronic document information 21 at a later date is not useful.). (2) The special projector 20 is necessary for output of the synchronization information 22 representing a correlation between the reproduction time axis of the audio/video information 11 and each page of the electronic document information 21. (3) The system can work for only the presentation using the projector 20 (The system cannot be adapted to a material that is not prepared as an electronic material and that is prepared only on a paper medium at the point in time when the presentation is started.).